Amazing Grace 360

 Back in December my mom and her very good friend Druid were both in Hawaii and the subject of the PCA Global Womens Conference came up in conversation.  It was at this time that they both decided they wanted to bring their daughters to this conference and have one big ole mother/daughter weekend.  Although all 6 of us (mothers and daughters) live in 6 different locations and have 6 very busy schedules we somehow made it work, and 10 months later here we are!  

 It was so fun to be here all together and attend such a wonderful conference!  They Joyners have been family friends for a long time, so it was very fun to spend the weekend with them!  And can I just say that the daughters must have heard the mothers say at least 15 times while we were there, " we just can't believe we made this work" ha!

The teaching was so incredibly rich.  The speakers were all wonderful and Indelible Grace and Laura Story led worship.  For so many reasons I walked away from this conference challenged, encouraged, and re-vived to come back to the apple and do life and ministry here.  

The coolest part of the conference for me was the great privilege I had to be a part of the Saturday night session.  They decided to do something a little different at this conference and instead of having a main speaker Saturday night, they asked 8 women to  to be a "face of grace".  All 8 women were different ages and in different seasons of life and we all had very different stories.  Over the summer we were all asked to turn in answers to questions they gave us and pictures to go along with it.  They took our answers and pictures and had a lady narrate our stories.  It was so weird to sit on stage in front of 2000 women and watch and listen to my story being shared.  After each of our stories were shared we were then asked another question and we answered that in front of everyone.  I am not one who likes to be in front of so many people let alone have to open my mouth, but I do have to say it was a really cool opportunity.  

The 3 things I think I walked away the most humbled and encouraged by were:

1) God really has been so faithful to me.  When I live life I forget this so easily, but when you hear your life being shared to so many people you see your own life in a different light.  make sense?

2) The lady who sat beside me on stage and went before me was 90 years old. It was so cool to sit beside her on stage, hear her story, and listen to her speak.  When asked when the Joy of christ was most visible in her, she sweetly remarked, "I hope people always see the joy of Jesus in me".  I want to be like her.  I want to be walking with the Lord when I am 90 years old and seeking to be a light to others.  She has had a much longer pilgrimage than me and I have so much to learn from her.   On that stage I quietly prayed that I would be up there again at 90, walking with Jesus and sharing Him with others.

3) A few days before the conference I shared with the lady who mentors me that I didn't know if I should be a "face of grace".  I've been struggling a lot lately with seeing God's goodness and faithfulness in my life (hence why reason #1 was so good) I felt like I had nothing to share and no one would get anything from my story.  Soooo can I just tell you how encouraging it is to have people come up to you afterwards and tell you how your story ministered to them?  It's funny how sometimes the things you struggle with the most can end up being really encouraging to others.  I guess it really is true that God uses the weak, because thankfully I do think He used me in one way or another at that conference.

So at the end of the session I walked off the stage and guess who was standing there????  Yes, my father came and surprised me! It was so great to have him there (although I didn't know he was there until the end) Even as an adult he tries to be there for the important moments in my life.   Thanks Dad!!!

 My dad stayed long enough to take my sister and I out for dessert at the cheesecake Factory and all of us out to lunch Sunday at Pappasitos before heading back to NC and leaving the girls for the rest of our girls weekend!

Although the conference was over on Sunday, my mom, sis and I stayed in Atlanta an extra day to hang out and shop!  It was fun to hang out together and enjoy a girls trip.

It hit me this weekend that coming to the south is like taking a giant breath fresh air.  I needed that breath. 

I still feel like I have so much I want to journal through from the conference, but it really was a great weekend!

I am thankful to my mom and Druid for making it possible for all of us!